The invention relates to a carrier for glass panels or sections. More particularly, it relates to a carrier or rack assembly for carrying and storing auto glass, such as windshields.
In the manufacture of new automobiles, it is necessary that auto glass, such as windshields, be readily transported to the location where they are installed into the auto body. It may also sometimes be necessary or convenient for windshields to be stored at a particular point at the manufacturing location. Similarly, in auto body repair and auto glass repair shops, it is frequently necessary that windshields be moved from one point to another, or stored within the shop. Furthermore, in connection with the operation of an auto body repair or auto glass repair shop, windshields must often be transported in a van or truck from a windshield source, such as a glass manufacturer, or an auto wrecking yard, to the repair shop. Most often, many windshields need to be transported or stored at once, again necessitating the use of a storage or rack apparatus.
Due to the brittle and somewhat fragile nature of the windshields, a windshield rack or carrier must be designed with certain specialized glass carrying features. As the glass of a windshield is prone to chipping or cracking from impact or excessive force at the edges of the glass, the surfaces of a windshield carrier contacting these edges must, of course, be of a soft or resilient material, so as to avoid damaging the glass. In addition, the windshields must be supported in the carrier in a manner that does not result in excessive tensile stress at any point on the windshield, in order to avoid exceeding the relatively low tensile strength of the glass and cracking it. As modern automotive windshields weigh about 35 lbs. each, a rack or carrier for holding or storing such windshields must also have sufficient strength and rigidity, especially in view of the fact that as many as thirty or even more windshield units may require transport or storage at any single time.
Windshields are most often loaded and unloaded by hand, so it is important that the carrier should be able to easily accept a windshield, so that it may be gently placed onto the carrier with a minimum of lifting or maneuvering by the windshield handlers. Furthermore, the carrier must be able to accept and securely hold windshields or glass panels having a variety of shapes, ranging from almost flat planes to windshields having extreme curvature, such as those now more frequently found in certain modern automobiles.
Various containers, racks, or carriers have been known in the past for storing or transporting glass panels, such as windshields. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,033,597 to Boyer discloses an apparatus for carrying glass panels having two elongated sides of a body frame covered with a hard rubber base with a plurality of upright dowels extending vertically from each side. The dowels are covered with a sponge rubber sleeve. However, many of these previous carriers such as the apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 4,033,597 are mechanically complicated and difficult to readily fabricate, as a large amount of assembly, e.g., welding, is required, resulting in an expensive and unduly overweight apparatus. Furthermore, the loading and unloading of windshields from known windshield carriers or racks often create substantial difficulty in that excessive lifting and maneuvering of windshields is required, due to the way the windshields are held in place in the rack. Moreover, with some previously known windshield racks, certain modern highly curved windshields cannot be accommodated, due to interference between adjacent windshields and rack holding elements.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a windshield carrier which is exceptionally easy and inexpensive to manufacture, yet which readily and securely accepts and holds a wide range of windshields, including highly curved windshields.
It is also an object of the invention to provide such a windshield carrier which can be manufactured with a minimum amount of substantially standard widely available components, which may be assembled with a minimum amount of machining, assembly skills, and fasteners.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide such a windshield carrier which is unusually lightweight in design, in comparison to existing carriers, yet which is exceptionally strong, durable, and rigid, thereby allowing for the secure and reliable storage and/or transportation of glass windshields.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a carrier which may be used in an upright or vertical position generally for transportation of windshields on a cart, or in a vehicle, and which may also be used in a substantially horizontal or lateral position on a floor stand or attached to a wall surface, primarily for storage of windshields.
It is a more particular object of the invention to provide such a windshield carrier having the foregoing attributes and characteristics which gently yet securely holds and supports windshields, with no substantial risk of chipping or cracking.